Tambang Timah plunges after Busang failure
Tambang Timah plunges after Busang failure
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned tin mining company PT Tambang
Timah's shares were under pressure yesterday as the market
reacted negatively to its failure to join the Busang gold
project.
The company's shares plunged by Rp 400 to close at Rp 4,425
(US$1.86) from the previous day's Rp 4,825.
Securities analysts attributed the drop to its failure to
participate in the controversial Busang gold mining project in
East Kalimantan.
Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana said yesterday the
government agreed on Bre-X's proposal to own 45 percent of the
mine and the Indonesian government and private firms owning 55
percent.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed Sunday night, PT
Askatindo Karya Mineral, PT Amsya Lyna and their local partners
get 30 percent; Freeport 15 percent; and the government, through
the Ministry of Finance, 10 percent.
Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) prices ended 0.9 percent lower
yesterday and the JSX composite index closed at 695.21, down 6.55
points from the previous day's index of 701.76 points.
Total turnover was 189.38 million shares, down from the
previous day's volume of 173.23 million shares.
Yesterday's transaction value also fell to Rp 440.95 billion
from the previous day's transactions of Rp 463.3 billion.
In other development, AFP reported yesterday that share prices
in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan fell yesterday amid jitters about
the health of China's patriarch Deng Xiaoping, dealers said.
Hong Kong share prices eased 0.3 percent after recovering in
late trade from a sharp fall triggered by reports that Deng's
health was failing.
"I think the market has been shaken out of its earlier
jitters," after Beijing denied rumors that Deng's health had
taken a turn for the worse, said Alex Tang, research head of
Yamaichi (International) Securities.
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index lost
41.68 points to finish at 13,102.94.
In Shanghai, B shares, nominally reserved for foreign
investors, fell 6.96 percent after rumors that patriarch Deng was
seriously ill swept through the market, brokers said.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange's B share index dropped 4.75
points to close at 63.45 points.
In Taipei share prices in Taiwan finished 0.6 percent lower in
response to reports that China's paramount leader's health was
deteriorating.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index declined 45.15
points to 7, 642.03.
In Tokyo, the leading barometer of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
dropped 279.90 points to finish the session at 18,470.75 while
the broader Topix index of all shares on the first section closed
12.62 points lower at 1,381.12.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Industrials index of leading
shares on the Stock Exchange of Singapore fell 26.31 points to
2,229.79. The broader All-Singapore index was down 5.79 points to
567.24.
In Sydney, the Australian Stock Exchange's key barometer, the
All Ordinaries index, climbed 8.5 points to break through the
crucial 2,500-point barrier and close at 2,501.7 points.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite
index fell 4.58 points to 1,247.90. The lesser second board index
dropped 2.69 points, or 0.4 percent, to 639.92.
In Seoul, the composite index closed down 5.99 points at
706.94.
In Bangkok, the broad-based Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)
index fell 8.05 points to close at 700.15 points, while the
selected SET 50 index was off 0.78 point at 50.87 points.
In Manila, the Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 8.41
points to 3,306.43.
In Wellington, the key New Zealand Stock Exchange-40 capital
index rose 3.48 points to 2, 331.32.